Bernard Appiah

Effects of an Evidence-Based Falls Risk-Reduction Program on Physical Activity and Falls Efficacy among Oldest-Old Adults.

Purpose of the study The current study was designed to examine changes in falls efficacy and physical activities among oldest-old and young-old participants in a falls risk-reduction program called a matter of balance/volunteer lay leader model. Design and methods An oldest-old group (aged 85 years and older; n = 260) and a young-old group (aged between 65 and 84 years old; n = 1,139) in Texas with both baseline and post-intervention measures were included. Changes in Falls Efficacy Scale scores and weekly physical activity levels were examined from baseline to post-intervention. Repeated measures analysis of covariance were employed to assess program effects on falls efficacy. Results Results showed significant changes in falls efficacy from baseline to post-intervention, as well as a significant interaction effect between time (baseline and post-intervention) and physical activity on falls efficacy. Implications Findings from this study imply the effectiveness of evidence-based programs for increasing falls efficacy in oldest-old participants. Future implications for enhancing physical activities and reducing fear of falling for oldest-old adults are discussed.

Universal health coverage still rare in Africa

Six years after the World Health Assembly urged African nations to abandon health care user fees, which were driving people into poverty, in favour of some manner of national health insurance schemes, only two nations are providing universal coverage for at least a majority of their residents. In

Africa struggles to improve drug safety

The findings were nothing short of brutal. Of 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa whose pharmacovigilance systems were assessed to determine whether they were even nominally capable of ensuring drug safety, 24 were deemed to be utterly incapable and just 4 had the capacity to “detect, evaluate, and

Science reporting in Accra, Ghana: Sources, barriers and motivational factors

In Ghana, as in many other developing countries, most science reporting is done by general reporters. However, few studies have investigated science reporting in such a situation. To understand better the dynamics of science reporting in such context, we surveyed 151 general reporters in Ghana. Respondents’ demographic characteristics resembled those found in studies elsewhere. Respondents perceived health professionals and scientists as very important sources of information for reporting science. There was an inverse correlation between journalism experience and the number of science feature stories reported in the past 12 months (p = .017). Most respondents indicated that science journalism training would motivate them to report science more. Likewise, most reported that easier access to research findings would do so. We identify characteristics of reporters, media, scientific, and training institutions that are important influences of Ghanaian reporters’ coverage of science. We provide recommendations for advancing science reporting in Ghana.

African traditional medicine struggles to find its place within health care

It was to have been the “Decade of African Traditional Medicine,” a curious, hybrid mix of herbalism and spirituality, in which disease is perceived to be a function of imbalance between a person and his social environment or spiritual state, i.e., a person’s guilt or sin, or even the direct

Snakebite neglect rampant in Africa

No part of the world is free of snakebites. It is a particular problem, though, in parts of Africa, which is home to more than 400 snake species, of which about 30 venomous species, belonging to four families — atractaspididae, colubridae, elapidae and viperidae — are known to have caused human

Getting the numbers right in Africa — a tribal solution

It often seems that the health care numbers and vital statistics in Africa are as hazy as the sun on the horizon. Medical statistics, for example, can come with staggering margins of error. The World Health Organization notes in “2011 World Health Statistics” that “there are considerable

Africa’s cellular solution to TB

It only made sense to connect the dots, in a manner of speaking. The number of new cases of tuberculosis (TB) is exploding in sub-Saharan Africa, to 260 per 100 000 population in 2011, according to the World Health Organization ([www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/][1]). Almost as

Handle with (faith-based) care

It is safe to say that spiritual forces have always played a major role in the provision of health care in Africa. They have, to be sure, been far more atavistic in the past, when the role of dark and mysterious powers was held to be prominent in the causes and cures of disease. While much of

US Pharmacopeia fighting counterfeit medicines in Africa

A new training centre has been set up by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention to tackle the pervasive problem of counterfeit medicines in Africa. The Center for Pharmaceutical Advance-Accra, Ghana, will train medicine regulatory officers, and provide expertise and develop talent so that